Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Some essential Patterns

Today I got some interesting leaflets, booklets that I will be using later on. These are essential in my opinion to the person who crochets and knit and want to expand the reach of their hooks and needles. I also order some knit dishcloths patter booklets to get into the groove of knitting some more. I will post their arrival on my blog.


You may have also noticed the above button is on the my sidebar . II am getting into knitting as well. I crochet daily, but I have not found a button yet, I will look around and see if there is a website like the one for knitting.

Getting along and going along with this, It is the Irish Hiking Scarf Knitalong, which I have joined as well.
Going for the knitting is this 25 Knit Sampler afghan with 25 different stitches that I am looking forward to make. I will learn by experience and have fun making this sampler afghan. I will see how this sampler expands my experience and maybe have it blog as I go.



Another book which I think is great for the crocheter is this one here, 63 Cable Stitches to Crochet. A crochet cable is a different stitch because it is made to mimic knit cables, they are in my opinion more difficult to make, but it you are looking for a real challenge, these two books are the ticket. This book if full of challenges, honestly if you crochet and want a challenge this is your book.
Finally I could not find this book in the United States and I was glad that I was able to get from Ebay . I bought it from a British Member and it was not very expensive. If I visit Europe this year, I will be looking for Alan Dart's pups. I will knit me a puppy for Christmas. I think that from this pup I will be ale to use different yarns and make different dogs, long ears, longer body, longer legs, longer tails and you have the freedom of different yarns to have all the puppies in the world. Well Thanks for stopping by and I will have a another Neon Lime Hat soon, the scarf I will start on the second week of August. Thanks for stopping by

Monday, July 30, 2007

Interweave Felt Magazine a Short Review



I have never bought this magazine before, but I was drawn to this one for some reason. It is a terrific issue with projects, techniques, and tutorials, I enjoyed reading the articles.

Some funky hats , cool Totes and great tutorials are in this issue. There are many ways to felt , or fulling the wool into fabric with great directions and illustrations. The tutorials form the basis for most of the patterns in the magazine.


You can actually divide the tutorials in the magazine in 3 sections : Felted Knitting, Wet Felting, and Needle Felting. There is something for everyone. Scarves, necklaces, tote bags, weekender bag a funky hat and other accessories good first projects, but there is plenty to challenge the not so novice felter. There is even a section for recycling your favorites sweater into items of great use like... well you have to get the magazine to fine out. lol!


It is a great issue that will give you some great knowledge and maybe spark your creative spirit into felting, from the etymology to the fabric itself, This Interweave Felt was a good buy for me. I hope you found this review helpful and leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Irish Hiking Hat


Well I am done with this hat, and I am working on the second hat already. This hat took me only two days and it was a great learning experience. The next hat will be about 3 - 4 inches longer , I will like a bigger brim. I also join the Irish Hiking Scarf Knit Along. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Make Your Own Yarn Organizer

A yarn organizer is something that all crafters need and desire. Whether you are doing Fair Isle knitting , or any color stranding project in either craft of crochet or knitting. If you need more than one color to make your project you want your yarn to stay in place and not rolling around the floor.

Instead of buying a pre made Yarn Organizer I came up with this idea for a homemade organizer. I bought a set of two 8qt containers with lids .


You may notice that I made five holes through the lid. I used a big screw of about 1/4 inch in diameter or more to go through the lid to make the holes. You may use 00 sand paper and a pencil to soften the holes and make the circumference smooth so the yarn does not snag. It is not perfect , but with care and patience you can have your own homemade Yarn Organizer. I guess any Tupperware or pitcher container will be good as well, but if you are looking for something bigger the you either buy something on the store or make your own. This gives me the ability of having 5 skeins of yarn on a particular project going at the same time. Inexpensive and very practical.



A little bit of Crafty Andy ingenuity and my yarns are all in one place.


 July 18-2013  I am adding a suggestin from a fan about how to make this organizer  with holes in a different way Thank You Lisa for the great Suggestion!.
"
Hi Andy,
 
Just a quick note to say that....I like to see men enjoying hand work of all kinds, including knit & crochet..
 
Also.....I like your home made yarn organizer, but why did you work so hard using screws to make the holes??
 
The hot tip of an unloaded glue gun would do the trick very quickly and....the hole sizes would be adjustable.
I also tend to save the empty oatmeal containers....and I use the glue gun tip to put the holes in the plastic lids.  *S*
 
I looked to see if I could post this suggestion on your blog, but....I saw no way to add a comment.
 
Lisa
SF Bay Area Native now ExPatriot....currently enjoying the Columbia River Gorge are of WA and OR"
 

Thanks for stopping by

Friday, July 27, 2007

Recycled Sari Yarns


I received my shipment from the Gamma Quadrant of Sari Silk Yarn . I had to share this with you as it is one of the most beautiful yarns that I have ever bought. Recycled Sari Yarns are undoubtedly the most unique yarns you will ever encounter. Silk thrums from India's weaving mills are handspun by women's cooperatives and cottage industries into gleaming silk skeins. Using their traditional skills they are able to create vibrant, textured yarn in a endless array of colorways. Each Recycled Silk skein is handspun creating natural inconsistencies and a rather scrappy nature; to make any project, no matter how simple in design, instantly charming and unique. I got this yarn from these two stores http://stores.ebay.com/Knitters-Knot-Yarn-Shop and this Seller not a Store http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcraftqn6. Remember they are auctions and the Rules of Acquisition number 3 says :" Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to!"




When you purchase this yarn you are supporting women's development groups in Nepal who produce unique hand knitted products, knitting, crocheting, and weaving in their spare time in their own homes. This work provides additional income to support their families and improve their lives.




No two skeins of yarn are the same. Each one of product you knit will be one of kind. It is better to alternate skeins for variegated look. Suggest needle size 7-13 US or 4mm to 9 mm. Best to knit with kid mohair to create soft feel It looks great if you knit or crochet with it every other row with a complementary yarn.. Cold water wash, lay flat dry, first time wash with vinegar. Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

I felt like the way it Felt





I got this magazine yesterday and I have embarked in some reading for the weekend. I may do some felting next week. Interweave Felt Special edition is a great read and it has plenty of projects and ideas. I just made a 2 Year subscription to the Interweave Knits, from Interweave Press. I liked the magazine and it is better to get a two year subscription, you save some money.







As you know I have been buying Hand Dyed Wool Yarn from Ebay. The store name is http://stores.ebay.com/forestgreener06 and the yarn is good for felting in my opinion. Some of the colors are not exactly as shown, so pick carefully. Still all the wool I gotten there is of great quality. The guy Ships fast and always has something for sale. It was worth my try and I will be buying from him in the future.






I have some works in progress as you know, and the green hat got frogged and recasted again with one more inch of stitches for a more comfortable fit. Sometimes in knitting or crocheting you have to frog an item, ( frogging = rip it rip it rip it) lol! Talking about frogs, in Men Who Knit group at http://menwhoknit.com this guy sends me an email telling me that my knitting is twisted. I go along for a couple of emails as I was surprised that someone will tell me the right and wrong way of knitting. Little did he know that I would post his commanding email on the boards for everyone to see and then others united in My Collective to rebel against this assimilation. He had sent similar emails to other people. The odasity of this jerk,little did he know that I am Bajoran and that I walk with the Prophets. It was Kai Winn dressed in Drag ha ha ha! It was by all means The Holy Knitting Inquisition. Maybe we belonged to the Borg Collective and was looking for the ilussive Perfection of the Omega Molecule or was from the Omega Directive of Starfleet to go and boldly perform random acts of unsolicited advice throughout the galaxy. I told him , eventually, that he should mind his own business and to stop telling me what to do. Who elected him the Borg Queen? Was resistance Futile? I don't think so! Thanks for stopping by.

Circular Needles and some Lime

No is not a Tequila drink. Circular Needles and some Lime colored yarn, that is what I am ralking about. This is my first attempt at using two circular needles to make a hat. I am having such a great time as I am making the Hat in this cool Lime Green from Lion Brand. It is cotton and should be nice for the San Francisco Summer




At the begining I had no idea of what to do, but thanks to a visual tutorial from the internet from this website. Look around through the menus and pages and you are likely to find a lot of things that will guide you and help you in your knitting.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/advanced_techniques/

I was able to visually see what it was I was suppose to be doing. I then adapted the technique to my own way of knitting. It gave me the vision of what it will be like to be doing socks with this method.


This cotton is not the best material to do in cables, but since I am starting , I wanted a rougher material than merino wool. I am planning to make a scarf and a sweater in this material as well. If you like this kind of hat you can find the pattern here for the hat.

Once I get done with the hat I will be making the scarf, ( or scarves, lol! I believe I can modify the pattern for a sweater) and you can find the pattern here http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingcarf.htm
There is a busy blog that is completely dedicated to this entertaining Irish Hiking Business Crafty Endeavor here http://irishhikingknitalong.blogspot.com/ . This is another of my yarn adventures that I will take you along, maybe not at warp 8, but definitely warp 7.9, Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Warrior Hat Completed

Here is the hat Washed and blocked. So what happened to the Hat? It fits perfectly. I like the way it looks and feels. It has a very randomized pattern in the border. What I called the Brim is where the pattern goes out with a front post single crochet. That stitch is made by crocheting a stitch in a horizontal way. Here after the first Horizontal Row of Heather Brown I alternated each color, but I made the single crochets in the other direction by turning the hat inside out on purpose. The Pattern it is very randomized and it actually looks nice. It was followed by another Heather row, one Fire Prairie Row and the last Row in Heather, on the last Row I did another Horizontal front post single crochet. So what does it give you?

At least to me it gives me this fancy border that looks like a finished product. Sometimes I use a reversed single crochet border to finish hats. I do this as I see hats all around this city, from $11 to 60 or so, hand made in crochet and knit, but mostly mass produced, which works by all means, but is not the same as having a hat custom made for you. So it is the birth of this Hat. Do you think it also adds a sense of a finished product?

The Hat is real nice and after getting it wet and blocking it to shape it drapes nicely. Lamb's Pride suggests to add 1/8 of a cup of white vinegar plus their shampoo, and then 1/8 cup to the last rinse, then to pat dry and lay flat. Well I did not add the vinegar o the shampoo, I figure I will tell my client to wash it in Woolite by hand if he needs to. Never to wring it, but blot it dry and allow to dry on a flat surface.

It seems that one of the uses of Vinegar is to refresh wool and cotton. It used in small quantities it will take odors away, thus the 1/8 cup. I guess it will take the smell out of clothes as well, maybe the detergent smell from clothes. I try to use fragrance free detergent. Well enough for now. Today by chance I will get a shipment of all my Ebay Auctions and some sticks from Joann.Com . I got one skein of yarn to try it out, is very cool new yarn from Lion Brand. Well thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Warrior's Hat Update and some Yarn

Today I went to my client to test the hat on his head. I was a great Fit. I have never worked with Lamb's Pride for a hat and I was at a point that I could undo one or two inches without losing the design I have already created. I decide to do this before it got too big.

During the test I saw that I will be needing a 4 to 5 inch brim from this point. The choices of colors is alternating colors , a ribbing like in knitting, maybe I will knit it . It will be in both colors, maybe alternating colors or maybe something else. I will let the yarn tell its story. So far the yarn has told me lots.



Here is some wool in very bright spring colors, it actually is like Easter or they can be for baby items. You can also make some felted Hot Pads or make some Coasters, a Tea cozy? I was a little disappointed because the colors are more bright than I expected, but the yarn is really good. This material is definitely great for felting, even though I have not felted with it. I will take it upon myself to felt something so that I can properly say that it can be used for felting. Some of this wool will be for some of my exchanges and some for gifts.


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

A Warrior's Hat!

I have taken a little break from my Knitting and embarked on a journey through the stars to the Klingon Home world, Qo'noS , to get inspiration for this Skull Cap or hat. It embodies the Klingon Trifold Insignia. This is the start of the Hat. I am using Lamb's Pride Worsted, 85% wool, 15% Mohair. I am carrying the yarn along. I am using the Brown Heather and Prairie Fire colors from this bunch.


The second picture shows you the story of the hat. I find that carrying the yarn along gives me a lot of freedom to be creative in my endeavor. Creating a one of a kind hat is one of the biggest pleasurable endeavors that I take. It is amazing to see the story the wool and the hat are trying to tell you. I will tell you more later on this week. This hat is to be a form fit. This wool does not stretch much, but if you want a hat that fits to a T this is a good choice and a great quality material for that.



Part of me wants to make it really big and felt it. I will refrain from such endeavor at this time lol! I think I will finish the hat soon, I will not cut the yarn off until the client tries the hat one. If you want a one of a kind hat this is the way to go. Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Bumble Bee Pot Holder Free Pattern©


Bumble Bee Hot Pad
©Crafty Andy
*
There is a Free Pattern at Ravelry.com.
*
This pattern was born out of the necessity of wanting a Bumble Bee Hotpad aka Pot Holder. I found nothing like this on the net so I decided to create one. Enjoy the pattern and if you have any comments or something is not right or misspelled let me know. This is done for the love of Crochet and the fun it brings to me life. Please sign by adding a comment to this blog posting.

Materials : 2 oz of Cotton Worsted Weight Yellow
2 oz of Cotton Worsted Weight Black
Some White, Red and brown yarn for face
G or H Crochet Hook

This whole pattern is made in sc crochet stitch, using two strands of yarn all the time. You may carry unused yarn along the work or just cut and switch to the new color as you go. The pattern is starting at the stinger Row 1 suggested coloring is à3 Rows black, 3 Rows yellow, 3 Rows black, 3 Rows yellow, 2 Rows black, 4 Rows yellow, 8 Rows black, 4 Rows yellow,4 Rows black, 3 Rows yellow, 7 Rows black. You may create your own bee color pattern.
Body
Row 1 With black chain 10, (leaving a long enough tail (around 12 inches) to work the stinger later on), sc on second chain from hook, ch 1 turn.
Row 2 2 sc in st just made.
Row 3 – 12 keep increasing one stitch at the beginning of each Row, , ch 1 turn.
Row 13-17 Now keep increasing one stitch at the beginning and end of each Row, remembering to ch 1 and turn, and to sc in 1 st sc; at the end of Row 17 you will have 22 stitches.
Row 18 -30 sc across, ch 1 turn,
Row 31- 44 decrease sc at the beginning of each Row end until you have 8 stitches left for the neck of the bee, continue until Row 44 with 8 sc. Finish off.


Head (make one Ha, ha, ha, you need humor as well) With 2 strands of Black
Ch 5 , slip st to join and make a ring,
Row1 ch3 , dc in same st, 2 dc in each st throughout, total of 8 dc. Slip Stitch to beginning ch3.
Row2 ch3, dc in first dc, 2 dc in each st throughout, total of 16 dc. Finish Off.
With white make the eyes, with the brown the nose and with red the mouth.
Remember you do not turn and you will choose 8 stitches to attach to the body.
Attach to the body.

Legs (make 6)
With two strands of Black chain 13 , sc in second chain from loop across, do not finish off, leaving a tail to sew unto Body of bee. It is an insect so try to make the legs as equidistant as possible, 3 legs on each side.

Pollen(optional)
Using a darning needle weave some of the yellow around lower pair of legs make a loose knot.

Antennae (make 2)

With Black chain 9 , sc in second chain from loop across, finish off, leaving a tail to sew unto Head of bee. Sew them equidistant from one another at top of head.

Wings ( make 2) With Black
Edging of wings is done in sc around the wing with yellow once, ending with slip stitch.
Attach wings in a diagonal way from the center upper body of the bee toward the edge.

Row 1 Chain 2, sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1 , turn (Remember this is the Top)
Row 2 – Row 10 sc in each sc, inc 1 st at last sc which is the end of the row, ch1 turn
(10 sc)
Row 11- Row 15 sc in each sc, ch1 turn
Row 16 – Row 22, sc in each sc, decrease at end of row , ch1 turn, finish off (bottom)

Flower (optional)
With yellow or other color * chain 4. 3dc on 4th chain from hook, slip stitch to beg ch and repeat from * three more times, four petals made fasten off. You can use some brown for the middle of the flower.

Handle or Hanging Ring

Slip stitch black yarn around lower part of head and chain 20 stitches, slip stitch to other end of head, ch1 and turn, 22 sc, fasten off. Weave in the ends.

Stinger
With the tail start close to the body .
Row 1 chain 6-10
Row2 sc in second chain from hook, sc in next ch, and in rest of chains. With yarn left weave in the ends.
*
The Copyrights of this pattern are as follows:
*
You can not claim this pattern as yours ©Crafty Andy. You can make as many as you want, but not in mass commercial use. You can not post it anywhere without my permission, you can always link to this posting. You can not sell this pattern. You can make as many as you want for charity as long as you mention where it came from. I ask that if you make copies of this pattern that you let me know and that this copyright is printed along with it. Let me know how you like it. Please sign that you agree by adding a comment to this blog posting.

MWC Men Who Crochet Jul 07

Title: Men Who Crochet CGOA Chapter Meeting

Date: Saturday July 21, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Repeats: This event repeats every month on the third Saturday.
Location: Telegraph Community Center
Street: 5316 Telegraph Avenue
City State Zip: Oakland CA 94609


This was this month's meeting, I brought some brownies to share with the group. Everybidy was fun to be around and lots of crafty people. We had a small class about doing a stitch in a different way by our Kay who is stanfing up. Kathy in the Backgroun, Me, Glenda in yellow and Peter. Peter who is the group leader.

We received a folder with last's month's How to make a Diagonal Box Stitch Square. They make sqaures for a Charity Group, each member usually donates a 12 " square a month. Inside the folder there was a lesson explaining the making of this particular Square. I will enjoy going as much as I can. I had a great time. You can find this stitch at ---> Diagonal Box Stitch!
Thanks for stopping by.

After Some Work, you can relax!


If you have not been by my blog lately, you will not see the changes. I am adding Labels to my posts and it takes time to redo all the postings. I just did not want to do it from the beginning. I am re posting all my posts as a matter of adding labels to them. There are 246 Posts and some of them post weird, and sometimes there is a picture missing or you can not read the writing. lol! So please let me know if a pages is not right, meaning no picture or you cannot read the writing. Now having black background, black fonts will not show.



It is amazing that I have been blogging for about two years and I can see the changes in my life and the evolution of my writing skills along with my Craft. Have a drink, either a Martini or a Hot Chocolate, or Home Made Ice Tea!



Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Cable Cycle One, Some Merino Thoughts

Well so far I have made this progress. I will do a lot more later on today. The weekend will be another story, maybe I will take Saturday off from knitting and dedicate it to crochet. This picture is the close up of the cable and you can see how it is forming. The last row is number 22 and now there is a repeat of 12 Rows until it reaches around 27 " in length. ROW 22 I have section markers, when a pattern is complex it helps to use markers as you can easily forget where you are. You can see how it is already taking the shape of the cables. I am really looking forward to doing some more work tonight and allow the work to rest. There is something fascinating about cables, and Celtic braids for that matter. I am hoping to make a cable scarf and a cable hat. I have borrowed the pattern from the Irish Hiking Scarf Knit Along. But I saw some very nifty patterns at a new place that I discovered, or rather visited. The place is Knit Picks and boy do they have great stuff. I bought some of their patterns and I saw where I can get my merino wool for my favorite sweaters. They have a great feature on the pattern that calculates the yarn choices in skeins. I thought it was ingenious. If you want to make a scar and a hat, then I recommend to add 3 more skeins to your order.





Today I saw the Berroco Fall/Winter Catalog preview and they have some great Merino Wool as well. I will have to confess that I am a Merino Wool Addict .

Alan Dart's Perfect Pups Westie in his smart coat. Height approx. 31cm (12in). Knitted in Snowflake Chunky/Bonus Toytime DK yarn.



Well I am hoping someone will knit me a puppy! Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Karabella Yarns and A cable Update



Hi my Blogging Friends! I got these three skeins of Karabella yarn from this Ebay Store for a great price, the link is here http://stores.ebay.com/HEATHER-KNITZ , it was a great price and the shipping was reasonable. There is more where that came from.

I find that Ebay Sellers have great yarn for sale, yet you have to read very carefully their shipping descriptions and their return or exchange policy description. I try to go for 98 to 100% feedback Sellers,but I am not that obsessed with perfection. If there are negatives or neutrals in their feedback, I read it and determine my risk factor. Someone who has a money back guarantee minus the shipping, wins my heart, but how they handle problems tells you how great of a seller they are.

Hopefully they will not make you go by the Rules of Acquisition from the Ferengi Alliance, hopefully they will not follow the Rules of Acquisition # 1 "Once you have their money . . . you never give it back. lol! Seriously "Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to." Rule of Acquisition #3. A partial list can be found at this link List of Rules .

The picture is very close to the color of the Yarn. Soft merino wool, I really don't know where this wool was hiding from me all my life. Merino wool is tightly crimped and springy. Staples are commonly between 2.5–4 inches (65–100 mm). A Saxon Merino produces between 3 and 6 kg of unwashed wool a year while a good quality Peppin Merino ram will produce up to 18 kg of unwashed wool a year. Merino wool is generally less than 24.5 micrometres (microns, µm) in diameter. Medium merino wool is between 20.6-22.5 µm, fine medium is between 19.6-20.5 µm, fine is between 18.6-19.5 µm, superfine is between 17.6-18.5 and ultra fine wool is between 12.5 to 16.9. Ultra fine wool is suitable for blending with other exclusive fibres such as Silk and Cashmere.




This is the second picture of the Cable Sweater I have 3 inches of ribbing and then 11 rows of knitting. Today I will finish the second part of the Cabling Braid. Cabling Knitting is what you do when stitches crossing behind are transferred to a small cable needle for storage while the stitches passing in front are knitted. The former stitches are then transferred back to the original needle or knitted from the cable needle itself. Other knitters prefer to transfer the stitches to a large safety pin or, for a single stitch, simply hold it in their fingers while knitting the other stitch(es). Cable stitches are generally permuted only on the right side, i.e., every other row. Having a spacer row helps the fabric to "relax".




I do love Cable Braids. Cables are often used to make braid patterns. Usually, the cables themselves are with a knit stitch while the background is done in purl. As the number of cables increases, the number of crossing patterns increases, as described by the braid group. Various visual effects are also possible by shifting the center lines of the undulating cables, or by changing the space between the cables, making them denser or more open. Celtic Braids, they are beautiful.

I guess it comes from my Genetic Make up of Celtic-Iberian heritage. The Celts of Europe entered Iberia through two separate migrations in the ninth and seventh centuries BC They generally settled in the north and assimilated various other groups into Celtic culture. The most striking Celtic group was that of the Celtiberians, who integrated the Celtic tradition and knowledge of iron working with Iberian culture.

In the fourth century BC the Celtici, a new wave of Celtic migration (of the La Tène culture), enter Iberia going as far as modern-day Portuguese territory and settle in the Alentejo also penetrating in the Algarve. The Turduli and Turdetani, probably descendants of the Tartessians, although celticized, became established in the area of the Guadiana river, in the south of modern Portugal. A series of cities in the Algarve, such as Balsa (Tavira), Baesuris (Castro Marim), Ossonoba(Faro) and Cilpes (Silves), became inhabited by the Cynetes progressively mingled with Celtic populations. The Lusitanians (most probably proto-Celt) began to inhabit the area between the Douro and the Tagus rivers (and progressively penetrate the High Alentejo). They are neighbored to the east by the Vettones (also probably proto-Celt). The Celtic Calaicians or Gallaeci inhabit all the region above the Douro river (modern Galicia and northern Portugal).

Let's see what happens with this sweater or jumper after the weekend is over. Saturday I have the Meeting of the CGOA Chapter in Oakland, California, Sponsored by the Men Who Crochet Group at Yahoo. The main purpose of the Crochet Guild of America is to educate the public about crochet, provide education and networking opportunities, and set a national standard for the quality, art and skill of crochet through creative endeavors.

CGOA is a not-for-profit organization established to:


1) Set an acceptable standard of work and strive toward excellence in all facets of crochet .
2) Ensure the preservation of historical crochet projects and promote future crochet design ideas.
3) Promote the art and skill of crochet through exhibitions, continuing education, demonstrations and seminars.

Membership in the Crochet Guild of America is open to all those who love crochet. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced crocheter, you are invited to join CGOA. You can download the membership application here http://www.crochet.org/pdfs/membro.pdf.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my Close up!

Pardon the dust while remodeling and upgrading this blog to the 21st Century, I think it will be a lot of fun, but lots of work. You will enjoy the same quality of writing, but a difference in colors and more of a Zen Look. We will be able to have polls and other gadgets. It will be fun, but learning more HTML and Pascal, which it seems to be the language behind some of the stuff will take a bit of my time.



In the meantime you can see that I am ready for some serious Crocheting and Knitting. Here is a picture of my Halloween Costume that I have purchase and is getting customized to my liking. Is never too early for Christmas or Halloween! lol!



So I will start in the next few days by upgrading the Template among things. Pardon our dust in the meantime! Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Christmas in July 2007 and then some!





Christmas in July? It seems like it, I decided this year to get my Yarn way ahead of time so that I can start making stuff for the Holidays. I will be working in multiple projects at the same time, but the will have deadlines for my own sake. lol! Otherwise I will be with so many UFOs that nobody will be able to save me from myself. Nevertheless I have these creative urges to get rid of some yarn by making something.



Where did I get it? I got this Hand Dyed Wool from Ebay and the seller is http://stores.ebay.com/forestgreener06 , I can tell you that this picture does no justice to this wool. I will definitely be buying some of my wool from this Store. I got a good deal and look forward to doing business again in the near future. Well it really made feel like the Holidays are very close. I don't know about you, but I would spread Holiday Joy all year long.



I am one of those people who loves Christmas, and I don't let anyone give me any Grinch stories, what is the saying bahamba!, If you want to be miserable then lock yourself up and be miserable alone ha ha ha! Well I have been reading a lot about knitting, I just bought 3 E-books one of them being Stranded Color Knitting by Nanette Blanchard that is very interesting, You end up purchasing, as a download of course, from Lulu.com I am almost done reading it. I am also reading the Knitting without Tears. On another level I am reading the "Last Jew" in Spanish, a very interesting book of a Jew in the time of the Terrible Inquisition, in specific the Spanish Inquisition, I am on Chapter 6, not a bad book. I remember one of the characters as a real character in life, Tomas de Torquemada , First Grand Inquisitor of Spain, and confessor to Isabella of Spain. I enjoy multitasking this way , and don't worry I will not get confused or lost, it is very challenging and keeps my mind Sharp!




What will I be making? What do you guys and gals think of a cabled sweater where the sweater is white, but the cables are red and green? Should it be socks (I am learning) , or a hats and scarves? Well I could use my software to create a pattern. Last year I bought Instant Stitch Sweater Design Version 2.22. It was working in XP, but now in Vista I had to re-install the software and running the software, you right click on the Icon and get it to the compatibility mode and check mark , Run as administrator. It means it will run, as I have tested and runs well. So anyone out there that has this version you can install it in Vista and it works, but when you do as I just explained in this paragraph.



So there was more yarn and needles and other goodies from Joann. I am planning on making this Tree of Life Cardigan Sweater . I will definitely make some adjustments and I don't know if I will make the neck the same way, but pretty much it will be a great gift for myself. I promise that I will do my hair in a different way!



Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Purl one,Knit One ,start a sweater , Just One!

I find the ribbing stitch to be one of the most beautiful stitches in knitting craft. You are probably asking yourself what am I talking about, right? I hate making that ribbing P1, K1, then on and on and on until you finish the row, then do the opposite K1, P1. Unless you are in circular needles and that is another story. With circular needles you have the choice of doing the same stitch over and over again without the need of turning the work.


Here you see my hands halfway through the back ribbing. That is for the back of the sweater. This will be the same sweater I made 10 years Ago, but with different materials and different color combination.. I am not going to disclose the material used at this time, because some people seem to get biased by materials. I think the material will do just fine. It could be cotton, wool, acrylic or a combination blend. This will be my first Knit Sweater in 10 Years.

The pattern that I will be using is made of 3 sets of cables (the Same Cable) and the rest in some kind of rib pattern which is to be determined in the next day or two, I have not decided yet. The ribbing of the sweater is the most beautiful part of the sweater and the most difficult to make in my opinion. I guess I am practicing to make some socks later on. As part of my projects I have socks, crochet skull caps, some Fair Isle Hats and maybe some mittens. I just want to be ale to have WIP (Works In Progress) that I will be able to finish as I go along.

There will be crochet projects as well. Crochet and knitting , the alternating of both crafts, helps my hands and wrists to do a different repetitive motion without being overtaxed by one. Talking about projects, here is the resting place of the Windmill Afghan. This leather Chair is very cold and the afghan is cozy and warm. Together they make a great combination just in front of the Fireplace! I will be posting my progress and other projects as I go forward in time!

Thanks for stopping by!




Saturday, July 14, 2007

Knitted Four Panel Afghan Completed


Before and After

I finally finished the making of this new Afghan in less than two months after it was unwound. It is made in Paton's Yukon , with size 15 needles. This textured Afghan is made in four panels , each panel is comprised of 28 stitches.

The panel is started and ended with a Garter Stitch. The Garter stitch is the textured fabric that you make by knitting every row. Doing this will make you be able to have a piece of fabric that does not curl and that it is easy to put together when you are assembling them together. Starting and ending with 4 K stitches leaves you with 2 sets of 10 stitches to process or 20. I did love math in school even though I found it boring, lol!

The pattern idea is simple k4 *(P1, K9),( P9, K1)* k4 and from this basic pattern you continue to increase and decrease the particular set of stitches in this manner like K4, P2,K8,P8, K2, K4 ... until you have K4, P10, K10, K4, then you reverse the stitch like K4 , K10, P10, K4 ... until you have K4, P10, K10, K4.

You may want to just reverse directions when you hit the first K4 P10, K10 K4 and go down in reverse always remembering to keep those 4 stitches in front and back of garter stitch.

One thing that I noticed, when you cast on the stitches you may want to do it a little tight, then for the first row or two of the garter stitch as well. This I believe will give you a tight border. I used 8 rows of garter stitch at the beginning of the panel and 8 rows at the end. The gauge is not very important, the consistency is. Use a counter, or write down the row you are in. The only way for me to never loose count is to have two counting meters going at once. One mechanical and one manual by pencil and paper. If you don't count you will not be as successful as I have been in creating a nice piece that you are proud of.

Well I hope you did not get confused, I was just trying to tell you about my experience and sharing a little bit about myself. The recycled Afghan has risen from the unwound ashes as a beautiful Phoenix. I am proud of my work and I want to thank you for stopping by!

Friday, July 13, 2007

The Crochet Border

So after careful consideration and upon pondering on it for some time, I decided to go with this simple border. The border is comprised of a row of single crochet, followed by a row of double crochet, with 3 double crochet at each corner. The space in between double crochet stitches is the result of skipping one stitch, doing a double crochet, then returning to the previously skipped stitch and do a double crochet.

Remember that there are four colors to this Afghan, so I decided to use the same color as the knitted panel. This way it will not look weird. I did start to do a different combination and permutations and more combinations and did not like the looks of it, so here it is almost ready for the showcase. Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

2007 Recycled Afghan sewn together

As you have been following the frogging story of the Recycled Afghan, here us the Original Picture , you can see how different it was from what it is becoming. I have been knitting this time and the crocheted afghan is no more. You don't believe me, well check the 2007 Recycled Afghan left over yarn and you will be amazed, I certainly was at how much work it is to do this frogging for the sake of recycling.


Nevertheless I did my task and now I have finished the knitted part of the afghan, now it needs assembling. My favorite way of assembling any kind of knitting project is usually crocheting it he tow parts together. You take a loop from one side and then the other as the picture above shows and you do a single crochet. In my opinion it looks very professional and well finished. One drawback is if you skipped a row, lol!, it would not be very even. I made sure I was not in a hurry, and that I was undisturbed while I was doing my work, I got my counter, by hand and mechanical as well.


Well the border is what I am working on now. I am using crochet stitches to make the border and I like the way it looks. It shall be finished soon. Finishing a knitted afghan with a crochet border is a great idea, because it gives it a very solid look. Well don't forget I will be back soon with the before and after pictures of the Afghan that was, and is not , but is once more!
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Recycling Plastic Bags?

This is a link that I share in my group. This lady which I met by another link in aa group has so many ideas of what to do with Plastic bags and other materials. If you want to make a Tote bag to carry your groceries what better than a bag made out of recycled shopping bags!
This is one of the examples of a Tote made with recycled bags. Below is another example of another eco-tote bag. Think of the possibilities! This lady also teaches you how to make the yarn that you need to make this items here are some tips and instructions that you will be able to appreciate --> http://www.myrecycledbags.com/category/tips-and-instructions/



Here is the link http://www.myrecycledbags.com/my-pattern-links/ , I will say this, I am more than ever committed to reduce my oil (petroleum) . Petroleum (Latin Petroleum derived from Greek πέτρα (Latin petra) - rock + ἔλαιον (Latin oleum) - oil) or crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid found in formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons (mostly alkanes) of various lengths. The approximate length range is C5H12 to C18H38. Any shorter hydrocarbons are considered natural gas or natural gas liquids, while long-chain hydrocarbons are more viscous, and the longest chains are paraffin wax. In its naturally occurring form, it may contain other nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.[1] It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowish or even greenish) but varies greatly in appearance, depending on its composition. Crude oil may also be found in semi-solid form mixed with sand, as in the Athabasca oil sands in Canada, where it may be referred to as crude bitumen.

Somehow we need to keep down our petroleum. Why is there a gas price hike when there are so many hybrid cars? If they save gas why aren't we flowing in a surplus of gasoline so that the price fall? Interesting indeed, reminds me of the Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #10 " GREED IS ETERNAL". Thanks for stopping by.

Almost two years without blogging August 2020

Life can be a bowl of strawberries when cheries are not available.   It has been almost two years since I have been in this blog.  I have s...